Two to five
by OtterAndTerrier
Summary: Ron doesn't want his first kiss with Hermione to be their last one. Deathly Hallows missing moment.


Hi! Sorry I haven't posted anything recently (I know, I know: why would I start something I won't update soon? *cough*TheStoryOfMeYouAndMagic*cough*). I'm in my summer holidays, but been working and now I have to study for some finals before classes start again. What a nice 2012! Just kidding.

Anyway, this is my first posted fic of the year! It was written as a prize for the third place winner of the Hallowe'en contest at my dA group. Thanks to **exartemarte** for revising this :) Please let me know what you think of it!

More things to come soon, hopefully :) Thanks a lot for reading, faving and commenting all of my fics, it means a lot! :D

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><p><strong>Two to five<strong>

They could still hear Harry's footsteps in a nearby aisle, until their own path turned to the left and their running feet were the only thing they could distinguish.

Hermione was frantically looking everywhere around them for a hint of the diadem; all she could see, though, were endless piles of forgotten rubbish. How they were supposed to find _anything_ in that mess was beyond her. Ron seemed to have been thinking along the same lines, for he caught her hand and tugged at it. Hermione stopped, panting.

'What?' she said, looking questioningly at him.

Ron's ears suggested that he was somewhat embarrassed, but he looked deeply and determinedly at her as he caught his breath. He took both of her hands and led her out of the way, to a shadowy spot at one side of the aisle.

'I've no idea how are we going to find something when we don't even know what it looks like with all this stuff around,' he said.

'I know. But we have to try, Ron, the sooner we—' Hermione started, wearily.

'In a minute. I know that's important, but this is important too.'

He sighed, as if he was bracing himself. Hermione's stomach lurched unpleasantly, thinking she knew which topic was in Ron's mind at the moment.

'We kissed. _You_ kissed me,' said Ron, confirming Hermione's thoughts.

'Yes. You've chosen a really bad moment to ask, really, but since we're in a hurry, I'll tell you why I did it,' said Hermione. At first, she avoided Ron's gaze, but now she was staring defiantly at him. If she was to come out, she had to do it with dignity.

'I kissed you because that's what I've wanted to do for a very long time. And I did it just minutes ago because we might die at any moment. So yes, it was the heat of the moment, or whatever you might call it, but at the same time it wasn't. It wasn't a crazy thought, that's what I mean. I wanted to kiss you at least once before one of us died, because I… I would have regretted it if I never let you know how I felt. You can't speak to the dead. You can't bring them back, and…' In spite of herself, Hermione's eyes were brimming with tears and she breathed in shakily before continuing. 'And you can't live being in love with the dead. So, if I die—'

Ron put a hand over her mouth softly, shaking his head.

'We don't have much time. You made your point, let me make mine.'

He moved his hand to brush the tears off her face; then, breathing in again, he spoke.

'You kissed me because you wanted to have a first kiss with me, but also because you knew it could be the last one, right? Well, that won't happen. It won't be our first-stroke-last kiss. If anything, it should be our first last kiss. I won't let it be our last kiss.'

'Ron,' Hermione said softly, 'you can't promise that. You can't promise that none of us will be killed—'

'That's not what I meant,' said Ron, and putting his arms round her waist, he pulled her closer and kissed her, not once but two, three, four times, each kiss short and hurried but deep, their bodies so close together that they thought they could merge. Hermione felt her heart surrender. Their first kiss had been more than she had dreamed of, but now he was giving her another chance to remember everything about it. She felt the remaining tears in her eyelashes dampening Ron's cheek, the sound he made as he caught his breath before the next kiss, his hands tracing her back and reaching up to hold her neck, the muscles of his back contracting at the touch of her fingers. She thought they could do that forever, perhaps let everyone forget about them, stay hidden in that room indefinitely, avoid death and pain by simply holding each other. But then, Ron broke their embrace; he gave her an apologetic grin when he gently untangled her hand from his hair.

'What I meant was that now we have more than just one last kiss. We've kissed five times already.' He smirked, making Hermione's heart ache. If those were their last kisses, then it could be the last time she saw him smiling like that.

'We're going to live,' Hermione said. Her voice sounded faint, but she meant it. 'We don't need to say anything else right now, because we're going to live.'

She pressed her face against Ron's chest for a second, feeling his racing heartbeat; then took his hand and walked without looking back. If they were going to live, they had to take Voldemort down.


End file.
